Voto Latino Calls for Accountability and Oversight in DHS Funding Debate
Washington, D.C. — As Congress debates funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Voto Latino rejects the current appropriations proposal due to the lack of meaningful accountability and oversight provisions.
Voto Latino issued the following statement:
“Our communities have witnessed the very real consequences when federal enforcement agencies lack transparency and accountability requirements. The recent funding debate, intensified by the tragic killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, has rightly sparked urgent questions about how federal enforcement agencies are funded, managed, and held to account.
Voto Latino stands with families and communities who deserve a government that uses public resources responsibly and respects basic human rights. We urge all members of Congress to vote against the DHS funding bill, which would provide hundreds of millions more taxpayer dollars to ICE and CBP, allowing them to lock up more people and build massive detention centers. A majority of Americans disapprove of the president’s enforcement policies, particularly ICE’s tactics.
Pouring more taxpayer dollars into ICE is fiscally irresponsible. We need accountability for the thousands of families torn apart, the documented use of excessive force, and the inhumane conditions in detention facilities that have been condemned by medical professionals and human rights organizations alike. Rewarding failure with more funding is inexcusable.”
Republicans are refusing to adopt basic guardrails in the DHS funding bill that would prevent the deportation of U.S. citizens, require warrants, and establish clear accountability standards for immigration enforcement including use-of-force limits and protection for sensitive locations such as schools and churches.
Voto Latino will continue fighting to protect immigrant communities and to hold Secretary Noem accountable for immigration enforcement, detention, and deportation policies that violate constitutional rights, undermine public safety, and tear families apart.
###
Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections.